Spirit level



June 17 1924 J. A. EDEN SPIRIT LEVEL Filed Feb. 21 1923 Patented June 17, 1924.

rs STATES James A. EDEN, or BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

SPIRIT LEVEL.

Application filed February 21, 1923. Serial No. 620,392.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMEs A. EDEN, a.

citizen of the United States of America,

and a resident of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Spirit Level, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in spirit-levels, and resides more particularly in a spirit-vial tube pivotally mounted on a backing which is provided with a degree scale, and locking means for said tube, together with such other parts and members as may be necessary or desirable in order to render the level complete and serviceable in every respect, all as hereinafter set forth.

This spirit-level is adapted to be secured to a straight-edge, a plumb-rule, or other supporting member, employed by carpenters, masons, tile layers, and other artisans, for leveling and plumbing their work, and the primary object of my invention is to provide such a level with meansof adjustment whereby the same can be used to advantage in determining the pitches of floors and other surfaces. y

,A further object is to provide a spiritlevel of this character with comparatively inexpensive and simple means whereby. the required adjustments are obtained conveniently and accurately. 1 I j Another object is to provide locking and releasing means for the movable spirit-vial tube when the same is in what may be termed normalposition, or when its pointer coincides with 0 on the scale. 7

Other objects and advantages will. appear in the course of the following description. lattain the objects and secure the advan- 4 tages of my invention by the means illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in

which- Figure 1 is a front elevation or top plan of a spirit-level which embodies a practical 45 form of my invention; Fig. '2, a central, transverse section through the portion of said level which includes the improved features; Fig. 3, afront elevation or top plan of a spirit-level which embodies a 1nodification of the invention, and, Fig. 4, a sectional detail of the improved features of the level illustrated .in the preceding view.

Similar reference characters designate similar parts throughout the several views.

In the first view I have illustrated a spirit level which comprises primarily a backmg plate 1, a tube 2 secured transversely,

by screws 3 3 to said plate adjacent to one end thereof, said tube being provided with I a spirit-glass or -vial 4:, and a longitude nally-arranged tube 5 having one terminal piyotally connected at 6 with said plate, sald last-named tube being provided with a spirit-glass or -vial 7. The pivot 6 is in the longitudinal center ofthe plate 1,.and'in line with the transverse center of thetube 2, being adjacent to said tube. There is an opening 8 in the plate 1 adjacent to one end thereof, and a slot 9 in said plate adjacent to the other end thereof,.said. opening and the transverse center of said slot being in the longitudinal center of the plate. The opening 8 andslot 9 are designed to receive screws by means of which the plate 1 is attached to a straight-edge, plumb-rule, or other support (not shown), said slot being provided to enable said plate to beproperly adjusted on the supporting Imember, with the longitudinal edges of said plate exactly parallel with thelongitudinal edges of said member. There are two large openings 10 in the plate 1 located in such positions as to enable the spirit-glasses 4 and 7 to be seen from, the back side, and there must, of course, be corresponding openings in the supporting member upon whichsaid plate is mounted. The parts and members thus far described are old and well known, except that heretofore the tube 5 has been fixed at both ends tothe backing plate at rightangles to the tube 2.

A lock plate 11, having on its upperor in vn eredge an arcuate degree scale 12, is

mounted on the backing plate 1 and secured thereto by means of a pair of bolts 13 and a pair of thumb-nuts 14., The plate 1 has a part struck upwardly or outwardly to form arest, bearing, or boss 15 for the plate 11, and a groove or channel 15 for the heads of the screws 13, which heads are preferably angular in order to prevent the same from rotating. The tube'5 has a projection at the free terminal to form a tongue 16, and this tongue extends under or behind that portion'of the plate 11 upon which the scale 12 is delineated. The amount of, projection of the boss, 15 is approximately equal to or perhaps a little less than the thickness of the tongue 16. The bolts 13 pass through the boss 15 and the plate 11 to receive the thumb-nuts 14 outside of said plate. Upon tightening the thumb-nuts 14 on the bolts 13, the plate 11 is forced hard against the tongue 16 and the latter hardagainst the plate 1, and the tube 5 is thus pre vented from being moved on the piv- The tube 5 adjacent to the tongue 16 is provided with a pointer or indicator mark 17 to register with the marks on the scale 12. Obviously the radius of the scale 12 must correspond with the radius of the bottom or foremost end of the mark 17 Upon loosening the thumb-nuts 14,'the tube 5 can be swung on the pivot 6 to locate the mark .17 at any desired point on the scale 12, afterwhich said thumb-nuts are retightened.

By the means and in the manner just described the tube 5 can be adjusted to enable any pitch, within the range of the scale 12, to be determined with the level. v

In order quickly to locate the tube 5 in its normal position, or so that the longitudinal centerthereo'f is in the same plane with the longitudinal center of the backing plate 1, and to secure said tube in such position,.I provide in the longitudinal center of the lock plate 11, adjacent to the inner edge thereof, a screw 18 which is tapped into said plate, and a recess 19 in the longitudinal center of the tongue 16 to receive the inner end of said screw. Upon swinging the tube 5 into. normal position and turning the screw 18 inwardly, the latter enters the recess 19 and locates and locks said tube in. such position. hen the screw 18 is turned outwardly to withdraw the same from the recess 19, the tube 5 is released and can be swung in either direction for adjustment withthe aid of the scale 12.

. The spirit-level illustrated in the last two views .comprises a backing plate 20, which is thicker than the backing plate 1, but in which are openings 8 and 10 and a slot 9 similar to the corresponding openings and slot in said plate 1, and a tube 21pivotal1y connectedat 6, like the tube 5, to said plate 20, said tube 21 being equipped with a spiritvial 22. At the free terminal of the tube 21 is a tongue 23. The tongue 23 is provided with an indicator mark 24- which extends inwardly from the center of the front or lower edge of said tongue. An arcuate degree, scale 25 is delineated on the plate 20 adjacent to the are described by the outer end of the mark 24-, when the tube 21 is swung on its pivot There is an arcuate slot 26 in the backing plate 20, which slot is T-shaped in cross section and located. inside of and adjacent to the scale 25. The head of a bolt 27 is re ceived in the wide part of the slot 26, while the shank of said bolt passes through the narrow part of said slot, and through an opening in the approximate center of the tongue 23, which latter extends over said 28 is tightened the head of said bolt is caused i to bear forcibly on the overhanging of said slot.

Upon loosening the nut 28, thetube 21 can be swung on its pivot 6' for adjustment relative to the scale 25, after which said nut is retightened and said tube is held in position by the frictional engagement between the tongue 23 and the plate 20. Thus it is seen that the tube 21'is adjusted and made to function in substantially the same manner as the tube 5. i

In Fig. 1 the tube 5 is represented by broken lines in its extreme left-hand position of adjustment, and in F ig. 3 the tube 21 is similarly positioned in full lines.

The spiritwialtube 2 might be omitted from the spirit-level illustrated in Fig. 1, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, the spirit-level illustrated in Fig. 3 might be provided wit-h a transversely-extending tube and spirit-vial.

More or less change in the shape, size, construction, and arrangement of some or all of the parts of my spirit-level, in addition to those hereinbefore specifically pointed out, may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention or exceeding the scope of what is claimed.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is--.

1. The combination, in a spirit-level, with a backing plate, and a spirit-vial tube pivotally connected at one terminal with said plate, said tube having a tongue at the op posite terminal, of a separate lock plate extending over said tongue, and screw-threaded means passing through said backing plate to secure said lock plate thereto and cause said tongue to be grasped tightly between said plates.

2. The combination, in a spirit-level, with a backing plate, a spirit-vial tube pivotally connected at one terminal with said plate, said tube having at the other terminal a tongue with an indentation therein, or a separate lock plate adapted to engage said tongue, and provided with a screw adapted to enter said indentation, and means passing through said backing plate to secure said lock plate thereto and cause said tongue to be grasped between the two plates.

3. The combination, in a spirit-level, with a backing plate, a spirit-vial'tube pivotally connected at one terminal with said plate, said tube having at the other terminal a tongue with a depression therein, and being edges provided with an indicator mark, of a sepbe grasped between said two plates, and a arate lock plate provided with a scale and screw tapped into said lock plate and adaptadapted to extend over said tongue with ed to enter said indentation.

said scale in operative position relative to JAMES A. EDEN.

.said mark, screw-threaded means passing Witnesses:

through said backing plate to secure said JOHN J. BAKEMAN, lock plate thereto and cause said tongue to IDA NEMSER. 

